2015 is a year of performance for the Liège Port Authority which achieved highly positive results and confirms the relevance of its strategic options and its successful reconversion
Liège, 17th February 2016
Press Release
2015: Road, rail and vessel traffic of the Liège Port Authority: A remarkable year!
Executive summary
2015 is a year of performance for the Liège Port Authority which achieved highly positive results and confirms the relevance of its strategic options and its successful reconversion. Let’s underline:
- An increase of 6,82% of its turnover, which represents about 254.809,90 € more and reaches the total amount of 3.990.723,88 €;
- The tonnage carried on waterways rose by 8% to 14.594.172 tons;
- A significant increase in tonnage on road (+13 %) and rail (up 26%), that respectively achieve 3.656.114 tons and 1.572.660 tons;
- A remarkable progress of containers traffic (+27%) which represents 8.726 more containers carried for a total amount of 40.665 twenty-foot equivalents (TFE).
Willy Demeyer, President of the Liège Port Authority: “I congratulate the Liège port authority and all the concessionaires for an especially positive year 2015 thanks to large accomplished efforts in terms of developing traffic on waterway. Those excellent results encourage us to go further on developing and diversifying port activities in the area of Liège. I welcome it.”
Emile-Louis BERTRAND, General Manager of the Liège Port Authority points out: “The Liège Port Authority begins the year 2016 in a favourable context, following the example of 2015 marked as a year of growth. These remarkable results have been achieved thanks to the dynamism of private concessionaire companies of the Liège Port Authority. They strengthen the Liège Port Authority’s commitment to continue its ambitious investment policy, in partnership with Wallonia and all the actors of the port including concessionary companies.
Its purpose is to go on fully contributing to the economical redeployment in the Province of Liège and the Wallonia. “
Let’s remind that the port complex of Liège represents 8.900 direct and 13.200 indirect jobs.
Detailed activity report
- Turnover
The Liège Port Authority outlined a global increase of 6,82 % of its turnover which reached 3.990.723,88 € in 2015. That represents a 254.809,90€ raise.
- Waterways tonnage
The waterway tonnages progress from 13.537.710 tons in 2014 to 14.594.172 tons in 2015, that’s an increase of 1.056.462 tons (+8%).
2.1. Classes of goods
|
classes of goods |
2014 |
2015 |
difference |
% |
|
Products of agriculture |
802.619 |
498.916 |
-303.703 |
-38 |
|
Coal and lignite |
1.699.703 |
1.319.794 |
-379.909 |
-22 |
|
Metal ores and other mining products |
0 |
3.663 |
+3.663 |
|
|
Food products |
0 |
435 |
+435 |
|
|
Wood and products of wood and cork |
77.376 |
162.096 |
+84.720 |
+109 |
|
Coke and petroleum products |
3.064.712 |
3.321.485 |
+256.773 |
+8 |
|
Chemical products |
570.310 |
320.694 |
-249.616 |
-44 |
|
non-metallic mineral products |
5.491.962 |
6.479.462 |
+987.500 |
+18 |
|
Metals |
1.016.197 |
1.013.693 |
-2.504 |
0 |
|
Machinery and equipment |
210 |
436 |
+226 |
|
|
Transport equipment |
0 |
1.485 |
+1.485 |
|
|
manufactured goods |
46.692 |
38.180 |
-8.512 |
-18 |
|
Secondary raw materials, wastes |
437.882 |
1.003.708 |
+565.826 |
+129 |
|
Unidentifiable goods, containers |
329.972 |
427.125 |
+97.153 |
+29 |
|
Other goods |
75 |
3.000 |
+2.925 |
|
|
Total |
13.537.710 |
14.594.172 |
+1.056.462 |
+8 |
In tons
The main rising goods are:
- Carrier goods (+987.500 tons or +18%),
- Secondary raw materials and wastes (+565.826 tons or +12%),
- Petroleum products (+256.773 tons or +8%),
- Unidentifiable goods, containers (+97.153 tons or +29%),
- Wood products (+84.720 tons or +109 %).
These performances shall be due to:
- Generally speaking, dynamism and professionalism of all the Port of Liège’s concessionaires,
- Slurries and other wastes used by local cement plants,
- The pick up of metallic minerals extraction’s rate ,
- The new petroleum investments in Wandre,
- The increasing use of waterways for containers carriage,
- The wider use of wood pellet as fuel.
The main decreasing goods are:
- Coal (-379.909 tons or -22%),
- Products of agriculture (-303.703 tons or -38 %),
- Chemical products (- 249.616 tons or -44%) and
- Manufactures goods (-8.512 tons or -18%).
The reasons to these declines are:
- The exceptionally mild winter that occurs which leads to a reduced demand for coal and thawing salt,
- The more local cereal supply of Biowanze this year, leading to an increased use of the road.
2.2. Containers
Concerning containers navigation, 40.665 twenty-foot equivalents have been handled on the two terminal of Liège (mainly Liège Container Terminal, but also Euroports Inland Terminals). That represents a raise of 8.726 units or 27% up.
Here under is the evolution of waterway containers at the Port of Liège the last few years:
|
YEAR |
TFE UNITS |
DIFFERENCE |
% |
|
2012 |
24.813 |
-3.923 |
-14 |
|
2013 |
27.638 |
+2.825 |
+11 |
|
2014 |
31.939 |
+4.301 |
+16 |
|
2015 |
40.665 |
+8.726 |
+27 |
2.3. Maritime navigation
As regards maritime navigation, 78 coasters (11 units less) have used Liège port’s facilities
in 2015. It mainly concerns special steel imported from Spain, Great-Britain, Ireland and
Portugal.
- Global results
|
Mode |
2014 |
2015 |
Variation |
% |
|
Waterway |
13.537.710 |
14.594.172 |
+1.056.462 |
+8 |
|
Road |
3.241.994 |
3.656.112 |
+414.118 |
+13 |
|
Rail |
1.250.368 |
1.572.660 |
+322.292 |
+26 |
|
Total |
18.030.072 |
19.822.944 |
+1.792.872 |
+10 |
In tons
The increase in registered tonnage by road and rail in 2015 is mainly due to coils terminal in Renory, managed by the Renory Company, real gateway for cold steel in Liège.
Let’s also mention the opening of the new production plant of hydrocarbon coats of Gravaubel located on the port of Monsin, which has also pushed up the road carry of a little more than a hundred thousands of tons.
The Liège Port Authority plays a real role in sustainable development: 74 % of handled products in the port installation use the waterways. It’s an actually good European level. The Liège Port Authority is constantly working on the development of this waterways transport.
- New traffics
The Liège Port Authority is constantly looking for new traffics in order to compensate the traffic loss due to the steel industry. In this context, let’s underline the perfect collaboration with AWEX and AcelorMittal that allowed to quickly identify new concessionaires for the site let free following the closure of Oxybel, the ArcelorMittal’s branch specialized in the cutting of metal sheets.
Companies TRH, Inter Découpe and Envisan are developing new traffics and providing new jobs. Let’s also mention that the Compagnie Pétrolière Liégeoise has just taken the former site of Belgomazout in order to store APETRA (strategic reserve of the State).
- Results already published by neighbour ports
- Zeebruges ( - 10%)
- Gand ( - 3%)
- Dunkerque (- 1%)
- Paris (+ 3%)
- Anvers (+ 5%)
- Rotterdam (+ 5 %)
- Duisbourg (+ 5 %)
- Ports of Yacht
The number of accommodated passengers by the port of yachts dropped from 4.816 to 3.962 (854 persons less, or – 18%).
The port of yachts accounted 3.853 nights per boat in 2015 (160 nights less, or -4%).
This lighter performance can partly be explained by the decreasing number of stopovers made by cruise vessels, and the long-lasting works on the Orban Quay.
Regarding the flag nationalities, the Dutch flag still keeps the first rank (44%), followed by the Belgian flag (19%) and the German one (9%).
Development of boating tourism stays important for Liège which definitely yields the economic benefits.
- Investment budget for 2016
Various works over some port areas (drains repairs, bollards changes, electrical works, setting of public light towers, docks repairs, construction of merlons…) have been budgeted for 2016 and represent a global amount of 970.000 € (ex VAT) covered by the Liège Port Authority.
Contact:
|
Hélène Thiébaut Communications Manager - Liège Port Authority Quai de Maestricht, 14, B - 4000 Luik Phone: + 32 4 232 97 85 h.thiebaut@portdeliege.be www.portdeliege.be |
Serge Hercek Spokesperson Liège Port Authority Mobile: +32 475 38 96 53 s.hercek@portdeliege.be www.portdeliege.be |